Educational target

The activities carried out during the three-year long PhD course allow a student for gaining 180 CFRs (Research Educational Credits-Crediti Formativi per la Ricerca). Among them, 30 CFRs are acquired on the basis of various didactic activities (courses, seminars, ect.) and 150 CFRs on the basis of research activities related to the PhD project.

The basic training is mainly concentrated in the first year and concerns fundamental topics, whose knowledge is essential for the selected curriculum. More advanced didactic activities, which are distributed along the three-year course, aim at introducing the students to emerging research areas, related to their curriculum. To this aim, each PhD educational program comprises advanced courses and scientific seminars, as well as attendance at PhD Schools annually organized by national scientific societies and by European Networks of Excellence.

The PhD students propose their individual educational programs, under the supervision of their tutors, so as to get the requested 30 CFRs. The amount of CFRs is established by the Board of the School, according to the duration and the difficulty of the various activities. It is recommended that students introduce in their own PhD educational program cultural elements that go beyond pure "technology" with the aim of obtaining a balanced growth of their personalities and a widening of their horizons. CFRs are also assigned for activities aimed at trainig the students in scientific communication, through the presentation of conference papers and the lecture of specialized seminars at accademic level.

However, the fundamental goal of the formative activity lies in the research training, in the framework of an effective interaction of the students with the scientific community. This goal is attained, on the one hand, by means of individual work performed in close contact with the research groups of the University Departments, and, on the other hand, by participating in both national and international scientific conferences.

It is strongly recommended that PhD students spend a minimum of three months at a foreign laboratory, following a research program approved by the Board of the School. The wide network of international cooperations maintained by the tutors offer the students many possibilities of being hosted in important foreign universities and research centers.